I’m New Here

Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” [John…

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” [John 1v16] In the Story, the word “grace” calls to mind God’s undeserved blessings. The good things in life that you didn’t earn or rarely even ask for. A great example of His grace is your life. You didn’t ask for life, but you…

“He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” [John 1v10] Where are you right now? Think for a second about that. Maybe you’re in your house. What about stepping back wider. Where are you? In your neighborhood. Go wider and think of your town….

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” [John 1v9] In the Story of the beginning, there is seen a light that was not there before. When you were a kid, were you scared of the dark? Most kids are. Even if you weren’t, there are not too many parents who…

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” [John 1vs1-3] Where you start matters. Think about your birth story. Bring to mind…

I was walking my older boys (1st & 2nd graders) out the door this morning and realized that we had forgotten to do “the verse of the day.” I have this great Bible app (YouVersion) on my phone with a widget that shows the VoD.Most mornings, during breakfast, the boys ask me to read it…

I was informed yesterday of the passing of a great theologian and someone I knew as a teacher & acquaintance. Dr. Jim Grier was an instructor at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, where I attended from ’05-’08. He had retired sometime before I started my track, so I never took classes with him, but his influence…

As a dad, I know we can have tension during Christmas time with all the emphasis on presents. My struggle is always putting correct focus on the birth of Christ and allowing my kids to experience all the love that I have for them which is a reflection of His love for them. I came…

As a staff, we are always learning. I really can never envision a time when ministry is going so well that we just stop trying to learn how to be more fruitful & effective in serving and leading. The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task….

In truth, I’m not a fan of end-of-year retrospectives before the year has ended. I mean, anything could still happen, right? But, I couldn’t hold myself back from presenting this list of MASSIVE blessings in 2012. (I really tried to hold myself back—it was “awkward.”) If you’re reading this after Dec 21st, 2012, then praise…